‘Judiciary must not become annex of AG office’ - NPP blasts Chief Justice

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has warned that Ghana’s Judiciary risks losing public confidence if it allows itself to be used to advance the prosecutorial agenda of the Executive.

The party accused Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie of facilitating a "selective" vacation trial against its members.

In a statement released on Tuesday, August 11, the NPP said the decision by the Chief Justice to issue special warrants to two High Court judges to conduct full criminal trials during the legal vacation "betrays" the constitutional expectation of judicial independence.

"The Judiciary must never become an annex of the Office of the Attorney-General," the party stated.

The NPP noted that twenty-nine (29) courts are currently operating as vacation courts nationwide.

Under settled practice, these courts only hear motions and urgent interlocutory applications, usually virtually, while substantive criminal trials are suspended until the legal term resumes, the party stressed.

However, the party intimated that only two courts presided over by Justices Achibonga and Kocuvie-Tay have been granted special warrants to conduct full trials requiring the physical presence of accused persons and their lawyers.

"Every one of the affected cases is a prosecution of persons associated with the NPP," the statement said.

"Why only these two courts, and why only these cases?", the party queried the Chief Justice.

The NPP argued: "If the vacation can pause the trial of a murder suspect, why can it not pause the trial of political opponents of the government? This selective urgency shows that the object is not justice but the incarceration of NPP personalities.”

The NPP said the Ghana Bar Association and lawyers for the accused had formally petitioned the Chief Justice.

In letters dated 5th August 2026, Messrs Zoe, Akyea & Co. and Messrs Dame & Partners notified the CJ of counsel’s unavailability, the NPP disclosed.

On 10th August 2026, the GBA also wrote reminding the Chief Justice that vacation courts do not conduct trials where defence counsel are unavailable.

Despite this, the NPP said the warrants remain in force, and the Chief Justice chose to defend the decision publicly.

The party cited a recent court proceeding regarding the former National Signals Bureau Director-General, Kwabena Adu-Boahene, where the judge on the case has given the accused persons an ultimatum to secure new counsel within days or conduct their own cross-examination, failing which the prosecution witness would be discharged.

"What happened today was not case management. It was the strangulation of the fair trial rights of a citizen," the NPP said, referencing Article 19(2)(f) of the 1992 Constitution which guarantees the right to counsel of one’s choosing.

The NPP linked the current controversy to the appointment of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie which followed what it described as "the unprecedented and contested removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo”.

"His confirmation was pushed through over the objection and walkout of the Minority in Parliament. He is, in every practical sense, the product of a partisan route to office.”

"Even so, the NPP expected him to act with strict independence, as the Constitution demands. Instead, his conduct in facilitating these selective trials, in apparent concert with the Attorney-General’s agenda against NPP personalities, betrays that expectation."

The NPP is demanding that the Chief Justice immediately withdraw the vacation trial warrants, heed the GBA’s petition, restore the traditional vacation court practice, and rescind the ultimatum given to accused persons.

Citing Article 125(1) of the Constitution, which states that "justice emanates from the people", the party warned that "retirement from office confers no immunity from that accountability. History, and where appropriate the law, will render its verdict”.

"We remain committed to the rule of law and the independence of the Judiciary. We shall resist, by every lawful means, the weaponisation of the courts against our members and against any Ghanaian," the NPP emphasised.